Nitish refuses to withdraw resignation, Jitan Ram Manjhi to be new Bihar CM

Patna: Jitan Ram Manjhi, a Dalit leader, will be the new Chief Minister of Bihar after he was handpicked by Nitish Kumar who refused to take back his resignation despite repeated pleas by JD(U) legislators to continue as CM.

"We have staked claim before Governor D Y Patil to form the government under the leadership of Jitan Ram Manjhi," Kumar told reporters outside Raj Bhawan.

"We have handed over a list of support of 117 JD(U) MLAs, 2 Independents and 1 CPI member totalling 120 to the Governor for formation of the new government," he said.

The name of 68-year-old Dalit leader, Kumar said, was approved by JD(U) President Sharad Yadav and state party chief Basistha Narayan Singh.

Manjhi was SC and ST minister in the Nitish Kumar government.

Asked for the reason for choosing Manjhi as his successor, Kumar said "he was experienced and his contribution to the party was immense."

The effective strength of the House at present is 239. JD(U) has 117 members, BJP 90, RJD 21, Congress 4 and others including Independents 1 CPI member 7.

The four-member Congress, which voted for the Nitish Kumar government in the trust motion in June last year has authorised party High Command to decide on the future course of action.

Earlier in the day after a crucial meeting of the JD(U)LP, the second since yesterday, the state party president said the legislators accepted Kumar's decision to stick to his decision to resign with a heavy heart and authorised him to choose a new leader to head the JD(U) government.

It was decided, he said, that Kumar would continue to lead the party and coordinate between the party and the state government.

Singh said Sharad Yadav and JD(U) National General Secretary K C Tyagi were present at the meeting where he proposed the resolution accepting Kumar's resignation and authorising him to choose a new leader.

Senior minister Narendra Singh, whose name was initially doing the rounds as a replacement, seconded the resolution which was passed unanimously by the JD(U) legislators.

The resolution welcomed Kumar's decision to resign taking moral responsibility for the party's rout in the just concluded parliamentary polls in which it won only 2 of the 40 LS seats in the state.

Kumar told reporters that though there was no shortage of numbers for him, he had taken moral responsibility for the defeat and it was a matter of principle for him and the right thing to do.

Kumar said he would be ready to take responsibility again if he won the mandate in the 2015 state assembly polls.

"My responsibility has rather increased to guide government as well strengthen party in the state," he said.

The resolution said that JD(U) would go to the assembly polls in 2015 under Kumar's leadership and he would continue to guide the party by acting as a link between the party and the government.

"Nitish Kumar has set an example of morality in politics by taking this extraordinary decision," the state party president said, adding that Kumar was for known moral values in politics and cited the example of his quitting the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2000 after Gaisal train disaster.

Tempers continued to run high ahead of the meeting with Kumar's supporters gathering in large numbers outside since morning and Sharad Yadav, whom they saw as the one behind Kumar's resignation, was taken inside the building from the rear entrance.